Picked to finish fifth in the six-team Mid-American Conference’s West Division, Northern Illinois could smell the chance for an upset.
The Huskies had tied the score at 44 against Ohio State with 11:59 remaining, and a familiar sense of dread spread among the 12,880 fans at Value City Arena on Wednesday night.
But as Jaylen Key tried to throw a quick outlet pass off a Buckeyes missed shot, freshman JaQuan Lyle nabbed the pass and immediately found Buckeyes teammate Jae’Sean Tate on the block. The sophomore forward scored, drew the foul and converted the three-point play. It marked the start of a 10-2 run over the next four minutes that sprung the Buckeyes to a 67-54 victory.